One Room Challenge: Reveal Day

It’s here! The reveal day for the One Room Challenge Spring 2016. Before we jump into my reveal, make sure to check out the reveals from the featured designers and all the guest participants over at Calling it Home. This was my first time participating and it’s certainly a whirlwind few weeks. Lots of late nights painting, and shockingly (for me), no tears. Just a few panic moments that all turned out fine. I think my favorite moment was the reaction of my husband – he asked what room was next! You know it’s good when the hubs gets excited about taking on another room makeover when the paint on this one is barely dry 🙂

It was fine, but very “meh” and not super functional. As much as I loved the antique secretary desk, I finally admitted to myself that it wasn’t the most productive work space and that I needed a better desk. The furniture was all over the place, with bits and pieces from my old condo. The goal was two-fold: create a cohesive room and a functional guest room/home office. I created a mood board on Polyvore to use as a guide for design decisions along they way:

Mood board for the ORC Makeover

And I won’t make you wait any longer. Here is a picture of the new space (taken from the hallway):

The revealed guest room

Here’s the old dresser:

Goodbye 1970s dresser!

And now that side of the room, where the secretary desk has been moved:

The wall where the secretary desk was before and the window:

The antique desk area in the guest bedroom

And what this looks like now:

Love this new work space

Overall, I’m really pleased with how the space turned out. There are still some things that will evolve, but that’s how a room should be. So, what all did we do?

Wall paint: We painted the room Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams and I love this color. It’s got a little more blue undertone than I normally go for (I’m more of a greige girl), but it really played off the decor and furniture well.

Furniture: I kept most of the big pieces that were already in here (minus the dresser), and added a new desk. The desk and shelves got a Paris Grey makeover, and you’d never know that this shelf was $10 laminate shelf from Walmart that’s 10+ years old!

Refreshed shelf serving as a nightstand

Wall Decor: This is where the room changed the most. I painted the frame above the bed, and swapped it out with a botanical print, adding the sconces as well. On the wall you can see from the hallway, I hung some pieces of my grandma’s China that really picked up all the colors in the room. I had to battle with one of the plate hangers, but I won in the end and got these hung on Mother’s Day after a trip to Lowes.

Love my new plate wall

Shelves: I really wanted some open shelving for storage since we were losing all the storage from the dresser. I bought the brackets from Lowes and pre-made laminate shelves. I painted the shelves to give them a more rustic look and the hubs helped me hang them on Saturday morning. And bonus – now that we have finally figured out to hang shelves without cussing, I see more in our future (Hello, Kitchen!).

Shelves above the desk make-up for lost dresser storage

Linens, Drapes, Blinds: We replaced the old, dog-eaten, blinds with cordless ones from Lowes, and I added a curtain in a neutral Damask print and curtain rod to finish the window nook. I added a ticker stripe coverlet and pillow shams to the bed, but ended up keeping the duvet for the foot of the bed and the cornflower blue pillows. I found a cute burlap pillow at Hobby Lobby too. The sheets I had picked up awhile ago at Tuesday Morning that they were a big inspiration for the color scheme of the room.

New bed linens

So, what didn’t happen? Well, I had to put the window seat I dreamed up on hold – this is when I wish I could build stuff! For now, the existing chest stayed in the window and houses most of my seasonal decor (except Christmas). I also added a rug I had in the attic, but it’s smaller for the space than I’d prefer (it’s 5×8), but it works for now. My long-term plan is to buy a new rug for the living room and move that one in here.

The placeholder rug at the end of the bed

I mostly used accessories I already owned to keep my budget in check, and I can see myself switching out a few things down the road. I also plan to make some more pillows for this room now that I have a place to set-up my sewing machine 🙂 (True story: most of the pillows in here I borrowed from other rooms for the reveal.) I’m looking forward to continuing to tweak the space as time goes on, but I feel like I accomplished the two biggest goals: pretty AND functional.

Thank you to everyone who has followed along with me during the past month and a half! I’ve so appreciated all the comments and support – it’s been incredibly motivating to be part of this adventure with so many other talented bloggers. So, would I do it again? You bet!

Congratulations, Jenn (and Tyler, too)! Love the china and nice to see the milk glass helped to make the room special. I was amazed at how you gave the shelving and desk such a great look with paint. You totally transistioned them into something really neat. Great job.

Oh, love this room! Those hanging plates are a show stopper, too. I have been wanting to hang some but have not gotten around to it yet. But how meaningful that you used these from your grandma. I love how everything blends in together and are so functional! Great photos! You did it!!

[…] that means, but I do know that I really wanted to use my grandma’s China, last seen in my the guest bedroom/office makeover. While the floral pattern leans more spring than fall, the navy napkins and dark pink roses offer […]